ABU DHABI — A group of six members from NYU Abu Dhabi, NYUAD, broke the Guinness World Records title for the most chest to ground burpees in 24 hours. The burpee, or squat thrust, is a full body exercise used in strength training and as an aerobic exercise.

While the minimum number of burpees required to break the record was 6,000, the team managed to perform double the amount, finishing 12,502 burpees in the allocated time.

The winning team consisted of HUA Fitness Trainer at NYUAD, Guinness World Records record-breaker Eva Clarke, Post-doctoral Associate in Psychology at NYUAD Ivan Camponogara, Assistant Director of Wellness at NYUAD Daniel Gill, as well as NYUAD Class of 2020 alumni Tereza Petrovicova, Brandon Chin Loy, and Anna Erdi.

Throughout their attempt, the team was joined virtually by two official witnesses at a time and received encouraging messages during the live conference call held by the Guinness World Records team.

Gill said, "We are delighted to have had the opportunity to inspire the NYUAD community as well as the wider global community during this trying time. We are looking forward to continuing to lead conversations on maintaining an active lifestyle through NYUAD’s initiatives and programs."

Clarke commented, "Attempting this record gave us the chance to take absolute ownership of the situation we found ourselves in. I wholeheartedly knew that our team would be setting a new record this year. None of the records I have ever set have been as rewarding and memorable as the one set with my NYUAD teammates."

"My four years of training with Eva and the team culminated in this challenge, I never thought I could do this many burpees and especially not in my room in an online challenge. I hope that we inspired others to set their own fitness goals and stay active during the lockdown," said Petrovicova.

Petrovicova had recently celebrated her graduation on May 27, during a special virtual Commencement attended by over 7,100 viewers from around the world.

Erdi, who also celebrated her graduation on the same day added, "Mind and body are linked together. There is no time for moping around, as all it takes is just one decision to change your attitude 180 degrees. Once that decision is taken, normal will be different. It will not be the same normal, but it can be a better normal." — WAM